Our nearest star unleashed the most powerful solar flare of 2011 thus far yesterday, and amateur and professionals alike were on hand to bear witness to the event. On Sunday, February 13th at approximately 1738 Universal Time, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory detected the burst emanating from the large Earthward facing sunspot group 1158. Likewise, radio amateur astronomers detected a large simultaneous spike in the 19 to 21 MHz frequency range.

Our characteristically dormant Sun has shown signs of awakening from it’s year plus long slumber this week. Specifically, a new sunspot group has formed on the Earthward facing side, and is now rotating towards the limb. This is definitely part of the new solar cycle #24, as characterized by its reversed polarity. Thus far, this solar cycle has been off to a sputtering start, at best. All amateur scopes, be they hydrogen Alpha, Calcium K, or safely filtered white light are encouraged to watch as this “monster” sunspot rotates around this Sun’s limb. The group already shows the envelopment of a fine dark umbra embedded in a pale penumbra, and will hopefully throw some looping prominences up through the chromosphere as it rotates from view. If you do not have optical means, you can still follow the action via SpaceWeather (the link above) or the Solar Heliocentric Observatories’ (SOHO) website! Enjoy!

Activity on the Sun may be finally picking up. Specifically, a new sunspot group has been “seen” up forming on the farside of the Sun. That’s right; astronomers can now model the goings-on within the Sun with such precession, thanks largely to satellites like SOHO and the GONG network, that we can now predict with some confidence whats going on on the side of the Sun turned away from us! This is mostly due to a growing sub-branch of astronomy known as helioseismology. The Sun itself rotates at about once every 25 days, although this varies by latitude because the Sun is essentially a big rotating gas ball. The twin Stereo spacecraft are also slowly inching their way out into leading and trailing orbit(s), providing us with a good “peak” around the limb. If you own a solar scope, the next week or so might be good cause for increased monitoring; the new solar cycle #24 might just be ready to put on its first show!

A close runner-up in the pantheon of cosmic catastrophes is a killer flare courtesy of our Sun. While this may not be as lethal as a giant space rock, its also much more likely over the span of our short lifetimes. But what is the exact potential hazard posed by this threat? What has happened in the past? And what can be done about it? [Read more...]

Cosmic catastrophe seems to be trending today, much unlike the currently pallid 11-year sunspot cycle. Without a doubt, the next killer asteroid will top your Tweetdeck, although whether it will bump #TGIF and Paris Hilton remains to be seen. The Cosmic Connection: How Astronomical Events Impact Life on Earth, by Jeff Kanipe and out by Prometheus Books comes as a sort of impromptu trilogy of reviews, as fans of this space will remember our recent review of Death from the Skies! And our forthcoming review of Heavens Touch, due out next month. Do not confuse this title with Sagan’s Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective from 1973, which was complete with the trippy space age cover designed to pull in UFO buffs, but was Sagan all the way!

The Cosmic Connection shows how we are intimately related to the continual celestial goings-on all around us, and that we’re ultimately not immune to our stellar environs. I always like to point this out to the astrologically minded; the universe does indeed influence human affairs but not in the mundane way your newspaper horoscope might suggest. Instead, solar activity, supernovae, and even the evolving tilt of our own planet form a continuing ballet, and we’re all along for the ride!

The book opens with a deconstruction of our planet’s own complicated orbital behavior. Cycles such as the precession of the equinoxes the variation of the obliquity and fluctuation of our axial tilt all add up to a very complex affair, and that’s just for starters. Its hard to imagine that the “Goldilocks” epoch that we live in just happens to be stable and “just right” for us to thrive, and that this won’t always be so.

Even our own star, the Sun, is exposed for the notorious side it can sometimes exhibit. Its role in climate change is discussed; we thought that the “exorcism” of the Chamonix glacier, which was prone to advancing 100 acres per day in 1610, was an especially unique tale. The infamous solar season of 1859-1860 is also discussed; we have yet in modern technological times to see a season quite as active as this one!

Think we know our own cosmic back yard? The Cosmic Connection will give you pause to think again. The chapter …At any time delves into the state and history of Near Earth Object (NEO) detection. For example, did you know that astronomers estimate that there remains perhaps 20,000 Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) of the 140 meter or greater class to be discovered? In a timely fashion, the book makes mention of the October 5th 2008 impact in Sudan, the first time we’ve been able to spot an asteroid before impact. The author also lays out a template for increased funding and efforts towards detection. Of all the cosmic disaster death scenarios, killer space rocks are one of the few that we possess any means to do something about!

And as mentioned, I’ll bet that doomsday asteroid will trend on Twitter…

Even our place and epoch in the galactic scheme of things is addressed. True, a death dealing potential supernova candidate currently doesn’t lurk nearby in our local galactic neighborhood.The currently accepted “kill zone” is a radius of about 25 light years, and Spica and Betelgeuse, at distances of 260 and 425 light years, respectively are the nearest potential candidates. However, as we continue our 225 million year circuit about the galaxy, this will not always be the case. In addition, we bob up and down around the galactic plane, through largely unknown mediums of intergalactic dust. Our overall motion about the center of our galaxy is oblong, with our motion towards the solar apex in the constellation Hercules at about 12 miles per second. About 20 “Galactic Years” have passed since the formation of our solar system, and less than a hundredth of the past GY since the dawn of humanity. The author also points out that we may owe our placid existence to our current placement just outside of whats termed as the Local Bubble, an expanse of 300 light years across in the Orion Arm carved out by ancient supernovae.

All in all, its pretty remarkable to note the cosmic ingredients that go into an Earth as we know it; we live on a planet that orbits a relatively stable star, within its habitable zone, with a Moon to stabilize our tilt, in a supernovae free zone of our galaxy in just the right epoch. Of course, the Drake Equation has been given treatment, as it has here at Astroguyz… the sentiment echoes a recent controversial book, Rare Earth, which posits that our circumstances make life here unique. Of course, we are talking about life that know, as in carbon based, water-loving life…

In the end, the author presents a very convincing argument as to how our existence is intimately related to our evolving place in the cosmos. Consider it a sort of “volume two” in our cosmic review trilogy, Death From the Skies! being first and Heavens Touch to be forth coming. And next clear night, (we do our review reading on the cloudy ones!) be sure to check out the summer Milky Way (if you don’t suffer from light pollution) and thank your lucky stars that we’re here at all to appreciate our privileged place in space and time!

Solar observing is just plain cool. While some celestial objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy will look exactly the same on the day you die as when you were born, the face of the Sun can change day to day, or even minute to minute. As we are currently in the depths of a solar minimum, now is the time to construct a white-light filter and prepare for those sunspots and faculae that will start to creep across the face of our nearest star in the next few years.

Astro Documentaries

Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.

DIY Astronomy

Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.

The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.

Astronomy Gear Reviews

Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.

Astronomical Observing Targets

Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.

Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.

A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.